The Commodity Futures Trading Commission submitted a prerule on crypto asset transactions and markets to the White House for review on September 18, days after the Senate failed to advance the Clarity Act. The move signals the agency will build a derivatives framework using its existing regulatory authority rather than waiting for Congressional legislation that may never arrive.
The Clarity Act stalled in the Senate this week, leaving the regulatory perimeter between the CFTC and SEC undefined. Instead of waiting, the CFTC is moving ahead with rulemaking on its own terms. The prerule, now under White House review, lays groundwork for how the agency will regulate crypto derivatives markets without explicit Congressional direction.
Both Agencies Advance Separate Frameworks
The CFTC isn’t alone. The SEC is also advancing crypto-related rulemaking, including a new path for tokenized stock trading. The parallel efforts underscore a regulatory landscape where both agencies are carving out jurisdiction in the absence of legislative clarity. For years, the industry pushed for a single law to draw bright lines between commodities and securities. That didn’t happen. Now the CFTC and SEC are writing the rules themselves, each claiming authority over different slices of the crypto stack.
The Clarity Act was supposed to settle the jurisdictional fight by giving the CFTC primary oversight of spot crypto markets while leaving securities tokens to the SEC. Its collapse means the old turf war continues, but with both agencies now in active rulemaking mode rather than waiting for Congress to act. The CFTC’s prerule submission suggests it views derivatives as squarely within its remit, Clarity Act or not.
Markets Don’t Care
Bitcoin reclaimed $80,000 on the same day the CFTC submitted its prerule, with Solana and Hyperliquid rallying alongside. The price action suggests markets have shrugged off the Clarity Act’s failure. Regulatory uncertainty has been the backdrop for years; traders are used to it. Whether the CFTC’s framework will offer more clarity or simply add another layer of compliance burden remains to be seen. For now, the agency is moving forward, and the White House will decide whether the prerule survives review.
